For Debtors Blog Category – Law Office of William J. Factor, Ltd.

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Court rejects "sufficiently rooted" test and holds bankruptcy estate does not include portion of bonus earned from prepetition employment

May 11th, 2019

In In re Brown, Case No. 18-81242 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. May 9, 2019), Judge Perkins of the Central District of Illinois, concluded that property of the estate did not include that portion of a debtor’s annual bonus payable after the petition date t… Read More

Tags: Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

The Small Business Reorganization Act

May 8th, 2019

Last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee reintroduced the Small Business Reorganization Act (SB 1091). SB 1091 is intended to streamline the process for small businesses (those with debts less than $2,566,050) that wish to use Chapter 11 to reorgan… Read More

Tags: cost reduction, small business

Money inherited more than 180 days after petition date belongs to Chapter 13 bankruptcy estate

April 28th, 2019

In Moore, the bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Tennessee joined a majority of courts and held that money inherited outside of the 180 day window set forth in § 541 was still property of the chapter 13 estate. In the Moore case, the debto… Read More

Tags: bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, inheritance

Beware of Bankruptcy Petition Preparers

April 25th, 2019

Every now and then, a debtor will appear in bankruptcy court on a case that is set to be dismissed. The nervous debtor will stand at the podium, and the judge will ask the debtor why he or she has not filed certain required papers within the time pre… Read More

Tags: bankruptcy, bankruptcy code, BPP

Article from ABF Journal Explains how Courts have Treated Merchant Cash Advances (MCA)

January 24th, 2019

In the November/December issue of the ABF Journal, attorney Jefferey Wurst explains the different types of MCAs and how Courts have ruled regarding the vehicle. According to Mr. Wurst, first there “are MCAs that advance money and get repaid sol… Read More

Categories: For Debtors, For Debtors, Interesting Links, News

Tags: ACH, banking, loans

Are Health Savings Accounts Exempt from Creditor Claims in Illinois and Elsewhere?

November 18th, 2018

Congress created Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) in 2003. 26 U.S.C. § 223. In the past fifteen years, Illinois courts have not issued any published decisions indicating whether funds held in a debtor’s HSA are exempted from a debtor’s bankruptcy… Read More

Tags: Exemptions, Health Savings Accounts, HSA

The Absolute Priority rule is alive and well for Chapter 11 cases

August 29th, 2018

I. Explanation of absolute priority rule Consumer debtors that do not qualify for protection under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, are left with filing under Chapter 11, where they will come face-to-face with the absolute priority rul… Read More

Tags: bankruptcy, bankruptcy code, chapter 11

Discharge of debts in Chapters 7 and 13; important differences you should know

August 23rd, 2018

Through a Chapter 13 payment plan, a debtor may discharge multiple types of debt that cannot be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (a liquidation). Thus, if you qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and your debts would be nondischargeable in a Chap… Read More

Tags: Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Filings among Elderly Increased Exponentially over Last 25 Years

August 5th, 2018

According to an article posted today in the New York Times by Tara Segal Bernard, “[f]or a rapidly growing share of older Americans, traditional ideas about life in retirement are being upended by a dismal reality: bankruptcy.” According… Read More

Tags: bankruptcy, retirement, senior citizen

Experts predicting increased ilIiquidity and link it to the climate that led to the 2008 crisis

July 29th, 2018

According to a recent report by Morgan Stanley “market liquidity across assets is in decline” and “low liquidity were the fundamental triggers of the 2008 crisis.” Those bankruptcy practitioners that had first hand experience… Read More

Tags: 2008 crisis, bankruptcy, recession

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